RG12- Match of the Day: Sara Errani (ITA) (21) v Samantha Stosur (AUS) (6)

ROLAND GARROS 2012
WOMEN'S SINGLES SFs

"Match of the Day" 
Samantha Stosur(AUS)[6] vs. Sara Errani(ITA)[21]
at
Court Philippe Chatrier
not before
12:00 PM Paris Local Time

Samantha Stosur wins her matches with a vicious kick serve and a heavy forehand. Sara Errani wins matches with her legs and her mind. When the two face off in the semi-finals, the tennis world will see whether mind can overcome matter.

Stosur, the 2010 finalist, has a game tailor-made for clay. She plays like a right-handed Rafael Nadal (but without the sprinter's speed), getting balls above her opponent's ears to invite a weak return; then striking the ball with her forehand until she finds gaping holes in her foe's defence.

Stosur hopped balls past the small yet strong Dominika Cibulkova in the quarter-finals and now will try to do much the same against Errani, who stands only an inch taller than the Slovakian at 5ft 4in. She will try to ensure her strokes are far outside the Italian's comfort zone.

"When your opponent is a little shorter, it's a little easier to use my serve and forehand up high. But when you are that height, you're used to hitting the balls up there, too. You need a Plan B. I've got to try to play my game and do what I've done in my previous matches, to get ahead and hopefully get through."

Errani hits a heavier, deeper ball than she's been given credit for. She says her change to a Babolat racket is partly why she has won three titles this season and reached her first Slam semi-final, at Roland Garros.

"The racket makes me feel much better on the court, like I have more power and am not too different from the other players in those terms," explains Errani. "But also physically I worked very hard in the winter - so maybe it's just a mix of everything that's helping right now."

Errani, who is coached by Pablo Lozano, dedicated her quarter-final win to the people of Emilia Romagna, her home region in Italy, which was recently afflicted by an earthquake. She is just one of four very good women players from Italy, including 2009 Roland Garros champion Francesca Schiavone, former top ten player Flavia Pennetta and her doubles partner, Roberta Vinci. All those players have variety in their games, as does Errani, who emphasises brain over brawn.

I have to be fast; I have to be resistant," says Errani, who has also made the doubles final with Vinci. "I don't have too much power so I have to think more. The difficulty for me is when a player is too strong. I like to make the match on [strategy]."

She will need it. Stosur has a 5-0 record against Errani and beat her 6-3, 7-5 in Rome. Errani, the no.21 seed, has been impressive on clay this season, but all her titles were at a lesser level and she did not win any of the three biggest French warm-ups in Stuttgart, Madrid and Rome. But the sixth-seeded Stosur has a lot of respect for her foe.

"I've had success against her in the past, but the semi-final of Roland Garros is a whole new ballgame," Stosur says. "I have to be aware what's happening on the court when I'm playing. You can think previous matches, but if something changes when you're out on the court you have to adjust. I'm going to play aggressive. I know she's having a very good year and a very good tournament. I have to be ready for a tough match."

One reason Errani has been able to beat two former Roland Garros champions - Ana Ivanovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova - as well as the tenth seed Angelique Kerber is because she has turned defensive points into offensive, time and again. If she can avoid playing too many short points with Stosur, she'll have a shot at an upset.

"She's very strong," says Errani who is 23-2 on clay this yea

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